Nature protection and biodiversity - State and impacts (Estonia)

General comparative data on species and ecosystems in Estonia is as follows (Sources: Estonian e-Biodiversity database; Estonian Environmental Review 2009; CORINE Land Cover database; Estonian Environmental Register; Estonian Red Data Book 2008):

* Red List categories: RE, CR, EN, VU, NT.

**Protected by Estonian Nature Conservation Law, categories I to III.

* Includes coastal ecosystems, drylands, transitional ecosystems such as bushland.

** Total area of Estonian territory with some smaller freshwater bodies – the land area alone is 4 343 200 ha. Official area of Estonia, 4 522 700 ha includes large lakes and rivers that are not counted here.

Despite the quite promising numerical picture above, only a quarter of almost 100 species of pan-European importance and protection value have favourable protection status in Estonia and slightly over a quarter of other species require more study for assessment. Nearly half the species have poor or insufficient status; i.e. the conservation of vital populations of them is not guaranteed. Habitats of pan-European importance with protection value over 40 % can be considered to have a favourable protection status. Nonetheless, nearly half of these habitats have poor or insufficient protection status and their conservation is not guaranteed.

Abundance and distribution of selected species (SEBI2010 1):

The abundance of top predators – terrestrial: brown bear, wolf, lynx; freshwater: otter; and marine mammals: grey seal – has increased in the past five years. This indicates favourable natural conditions and successful species protection.

The rise in the abundance of the golden eagle and the white-tailed eagle indicates that extensive tracts of nature and coastal ecosystems are in good condition. The protection of these species has also evidently been effective. The decline in the abundance of the black stork and the greater spotted eagle shows that their protection may be lacking in comprehensiveness. The entire food chain that these species head should be monitored and maintained. This points to the need for managing protection on an ecosystem level.

Invasive alien species in Europe (SEBI 2010 10):

A total of 942 alien species have been registered in Estonia as of 2009. There are 133 invasive or potentially invasive species – 76 plant, 35 invertebrate, 14 fish, 4 mammal, 3 bird and 1 amphibian species.

Ecosystem protection

Protected areas where the direct objective is to protect wildlife cover 20 % of forests. There should, however, be greater focus on preserving the biodiversity of an entire ecosystem, rather than just one species or one area. The percentage of green network areas is sufficient for the creation of an integrated network of protected areas, but with its current legal status it is questionable whether this would be managed efficiently. A total of 44 % of meadows is under protection but currently only a quarter of the protected meadows is managed. Considering the ratio of ecosystem area to protected area, mires in total are well-protected, but, among them, fens are in very poor condition and urgently require a management system for protection: almost 90% of them have already been abandoned. In terms of area, coastal ecosystems are the best protected, and the percentage of water bodies protected and the protection level of the sea are relatively good.